Nigeria Political System

Essay’s Objective: The objective of this short essay is to examine the effects of ethno-regional cleavages on the Nigerian political system. Specifically, the focus is on the way in which these cleavages affect party and presidential politics in Nigeria. Essay’s requirements: The essay must be four pages (you can write more if you like) in length and double-spaced with correct margins. Cover page excluded?  Appropriate length?  Page numbers included?  1-inch margins? Appropriate spacing (i.e. Single-spaced between paragraphs, when providing block quotations, and the first page heading? Otherwise double-spaced?) 12 point, Times New Roman font?  Also, you must cite, at least, two sources. The etext, wikipedia, google, yahoo and the videos are not sources; they are resources. Thus, please do not cite them or you will be penalized in the grading! Essay’s organization: Your essay must start with the opening paragraph that I have written below and part of the concluding paragraph (verbatim). Essays that do not include these paragraphs will not be graded.  Also, for the substantive paragraphs please follow the indications of how they should be structured. For the paragraphs, 2 to 4 do not repeat the questions. They are there to help you in writing the essay.  Paragraph 1. Opening statement: All countries have bases of conflict. These conflicts often reflect religious, ethnic, and regional divisions (cleavages)! Nigeria is no different. Nigeria is divided sharply along ethnic, religious and regional lines. While it is estimated that about 250 different ethnic groups exist in the Nigeria, most of them are related to the country’s three major ethnic communities: Hausua-Fulani, Yoruba and igbo These three groups are central to Nigerian politics. In this short analytical essay, I will specify how ethno-regional cleavages in Nigeria have shaped party and presidential politics in Nigeria’s fledging democracy. Paragraph 2. What are the main Ethno-religious cleavages in Nigeria? In this section we should read sentences such as: Nigeria is divided into …. major ethnic, religious, and regional groups. The major ethnic, religious, and regional groups … Paragraph 3.How do they effect the party and presidential systems in the country? In this section we should read sentences such as: Ethno-regional and religious cleavages in Nigeria tend to be over-lapping. For example, …. Over-lapping cleavages tend to … This is illustrated in the way that political parties. Also, it has an effect on presidential politics insofar…. Paragraph 4. Concluding statement  There are three key things that I have learned about the ethno-regonal divisions of Nigerian society and politica. First, Second.  Reference Style: If you place them in the text, they should be incorporated in this way. According to John Smith (1999, p. 3) …. or guanxi has led to individuals using personal contracts to curry favor with officials in return for bribes (Bauer, 2003, pp. 20-23). The full citation of the reference – book, article, newspaper source is placed at the end of the paper as a bibliography. For example, John Smith 1999. Corruption in China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Or you can use footnotes. For example, According to John Smith, trade has …. resulted in increased dependency …[1] With the full citation in the footnote at the bottom of the page. [1] John Smith 1999. Corruption. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3.  How to cite newspaper, magazine or  journals articles  James Poniewozik, “TV Makes a Too-Close Call.” Time 20 Nov. 2000: 70-71.  Bill Brubaker, “New Health Center Targets County’s Uninsured Patients.” Washington Post 24 May 2000. Alanda Beats,  “Conflicting Nationalisms: The Voice of the Subaltern in Mahasweta Devi’s BashaiTudu.” Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature 15.1 (1996): 41-50 Junge Wolfgang and Nathan Nelson. “Nature’s Rotary Electromotors.” Science 29 Apr. 2005: 642-44. Science Online. Web. 5 Mar. 2009. Grading Rubric:   I. Clearly explain the ethno-regional divisions in Nigeria and how they effect party and presidential politics.       Poor = 1.2 Points; Average = 1.5 Points; Strong = 1.8 Points; Excellent = 2 Points    II. Clearly explain how they effect party and presidential politics by providing concrete illustrations      Poor = 1.2 Points; Average = 1.5 Points; Strong = 1.8 Points; Excellent = 2 Points    III. Implements proper attribution and citation.       Poor = 0.6 Points; Average = 0.75 Points; Strong = 0.9 Points; Excellent = 1 Points